Some stories are worth sharing, whether they are true-to-life or just plain fiction, but when it comes to public understanding, not all should be shared, especially the fake ones.
Here are four of news stories that circulated rounds on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter by rumor-lover Pinoys.
1. Death of Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer
MYTH: It was rumored early in December that Cesar Millan, the popular Dog Whisperer, died of a heart attack. It wasn't true after all; you can even check out his Wikipedia (unreliable) page or search all throughout Google; you'll realize he didn't succumb to any disease. It was all plain BS!
TRUTH: He didn't, so stop killing him and other celebrities!! There is no truth to this story. A disclaimer on the hoax article's primary source, Noticias Unam, stated that all of the articles published on their website were fake, satirical. The disclaimer may have been misunderstood by some readers, since it was written in Spanish.
2. Korina Sanchez declared persona non grata in Japan
MYTH: Korina Sanchez was deemed "persona non grata" by the Japanese government because of her feisty pronouncement and wishful thinking while on TV that death and destruction brought about by then-supertyphoon Ruby in the Philippines be transferred to Japan.
TRUTH: It's true that Korina aired her insensitive side-comment (it really sounded off and striking, check video below) at a time when Ruby was fast-approaching heading towards the Visayas islands. However, Japan just didn't care; they didn't mind what she said. And that says a lot about the maturity of the Japanese people.
Video Courtesy: Youtube channel StarStruck
The declaration of persona non grata, still, was a hoax that was released by satirical website “So What’s News”. Read the article here.
3. Mysterious flesh-eating bacteria
Screencap from FashionPulis.com
MYTH: Last February, late-night news program Bandila reported of an incidence of mysterious flesh-eating bacteria going around in Pangasinan. This alerted netizens to take action on social platforms carrying with them the hashtag #PrayForPangasinan. The news spread like wildfire and caused panic in Pangasinan and neighboring provinces.
TRUTH: Truth is, the journalists (and staff) covering it really didn't know what they were reporting. They misunderstood the case, to a point that her wearing of protective suit implied some danger associated with the rumored case.
Realization that it was a hoax definitely angered the people of Pangasinan who knew that it served bad reputation to their province and caused damage to their tourism industry. And in all fairness, the coverage didn't even sound like an "epidemic". It was poor journalism and bad research. Misteryosong sakit, your face!
Thanks to Inquirer and other news sites for clearing the issue up.
4. UFO during supertyphoon Ruby's arrival
Screencap from Youtube.com
MYTH: A video showing an unidentified flying object (UFO) in the middle of supetyphoon Ruby's onslaught roamed the web and gathered a large number of visitors. You may check the video here.
TRUTH: D*mn was it clearly and obviously fake!
P.S. This post is inspired by Kel Fabie's article on 8list.ph.
